ISLAMABAD - Inquiry Commission on Friday summoned incumbent and the former secretaries Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on May 25 in the election rigging case.
Secretary ECP Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad will be appearing in two capacities; former chief secretary Balochistan and to represent the ECP as a whole, while Ishtiaq Ahmed, ex-secretary ECP, may apprise the court about the general elections 2013. A three-judge inquiry commission, headed by Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, was hearing petitions against the allegations of rigging in the general election 2013.
The commission directed the ECP counsel to submit today the documents including requisition made by Returning Officers for the printing of ballot papers in their respective constituencies, gazette notification of Form 17 and the Result Management System (RMS).  PTI counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, PML-N lawyer Shahid Hamid and ECP counsel Salman Akram Raja cross-examined the PTI witness Mudasir Rizvi, ex-chief executive officer (CEO) Fair and Free Election Network (FAFEN).
Rizvi informed that they prepared 42 election updates before and after the elections 2013, gave recommendations to the ECP regarding electoral reforms, and improvement in the election process. He said they had applied to the Returning Officers for Forms 14 and 15 in 267 constituencies of National Assemblies, where the general elections were held on 11th May 2013, but able to get Forms 14 and 15 of 161 constituencies of NA. He informed that according to their survey, there were 118 constituencies where margin between the winner and runner-up was narrow.
The cross-examination of PTI witness, Mudasir Rizvi, has been completed. Rizvi informed that 10 criminal cases were registered against him in Lahore and two in Rahim Yar Khan after the general elections 2013. He said though he did not receive threats from any government officials, but right after the elections the incumbent Speaker Ayaz Sadiq called him on his phone and objected about a report that FAFEN issued. He admitted that FAFEN is not a registered body but a network of Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA), a Trust in USA. The FAFEN paid no tax last year and its source of funding is from USA, UK and European Union countries, he further told. Mudasir also accepted that after the election he was demoted from CEO to head of FAFEN programme, and the reason was that a person could remain CEO of the organization only for two terms, which he had completed.
The proceeding is adjourned till Monday.